


Dark Enough ~ Langst

by The_Depressed_Huffle_Puffle



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crying, Everyone is affected by his death, I'm still writing the second part., Keith's reaction is in the second part, Langst, M/M, Reckless -read suicidal- Voltron, Self Harm Lance, Self-Harm Keith, Song fic, Suicidal Lance, This second part is going to be longer than the first so yeah., lance dies, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-01-06 18:03:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12216069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Depressed_Huffle_Puffle/pseuds/The_Depressed_Huffle_Puffle
Summary: Trigger Warnings: Self-harm, suicide, Major character deathUSA Suicide hotline: (800) 273-TALK (8255)BellaShips:Suïcide hotline holland: 0900-0113Suicide hotline Germany: 0800 181 0771Suïcide hotline Belgium: on Internet search zelfmoord 1813 (idk the number. Sorry)Suïcide hotline UK: +44 (0) 8457 90 90 90Please comment other hotlines to add to this part. It could save a life.This is a song fic! I’ve been listening to this song for a while now and decided to write Langst to it!Link to song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNGEpjXxS10





	1. Dark Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Link to song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNGEpjXxS10

Trigger Warnings: Self-harm, suicide, Major character death

USA Suicide hotline: (800) 273-TALK (8255)

Please comment other hotlines to add to this part. It could save a life.

This is a song fic! I’ve been listening to this song for a while now and decided to write Langst to it!

Link to song: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNGEpjXxS10](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DwNGEpjXxS10&t=MTU5OGEwMTVhYWRlNjE3ZDlmMWZhYTVjNWM0OWU1NDA4ZWNjODgwOCwxRTF6SU55Nw%3D%3D&b=t%3AbQ6ccv2MrA3LYJOu5R0_Kw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwhy-not-langst-haha-kill-me.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F164150639023%2Fdark-enough-langst&m=1)

A/N

_There is a girl in the front of my class who I swear I’ve never seen do anything but laugh_

Lance broke out in a fit of laughter, his laugh contagious and spreading to the others around him. His smile warmed the room and gave comfort to everyone.

_She’s tall and she’s smart, beautiful and strong and when someone’s down she tries to fix what is wrong_

Lance placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder, “Don’t worry. Even if you’re Galra that doesn’t change the fact that you’re part of the team.” 

Keith gave a thankful smile in return, 

_How does someone so perfect, feel so insecure?_

Lance kept his head tipped back, trying to stop the tears from falling down his face. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying desperately to keep himself together. _I’m just the goofball._

_As to scar her skin with cuts and burns and still want to hurt more…_

Lance pulled the sleeves of his jacket to cover the palms of his hands. He watched blood drip down his fingers, staining the black and green, red. 

_How does someone so loving, learn to hate her own guts?_

Lance hugged Pidge tightly. Her shaking was slowly going away and her breathing was getting back to a normal pace. “Don’t worry, Pidge, it doesn’t matter which gender you are. You’re needed here. You’re family.” _They need you, unlike me._

_Drawing a picture on her arms with a blade as if her mind isn’t dark enough_

Lance twirled the metal in between his fingers. Red stained the silver of the sharp object. He stared blankly, he was numb.

_There is a girl in the front of my class who’s eyes are glazed over like newly cut glass._

“Lance! C’mon, we’re gonna be late for the parade!” Hunk shouted at the blue paladin. Lance smiled and ran after Hunk, wiping away tears and checking to see if there were any red stains on the cuffs of his sleeves.

_The ghost of a smile hints at her face_

“To the paladins!” the king cheered to his people. Keith and Shiro laughed as they raised their glasses to the air, Hunk and Pidge following shortly after. 

Lance gave a weak smile and lifted the glass into the air. He picked at the things on his plate, trying to ignore the burning in his left arm.

_And she smiles as they tell her ‘Who’s on First Base’_

“-and then Keith knocked out six of the guards who were blocking the exit and we snuck in and got the data!” Pidge exclaimed happily.

“Good job, Keith! You too, Pidge!” Allura praised the two.

“I agree with Allura! It couldn’t have been easy downloading the files!” Coran shouted from the other side of the bridge.

Lance smiled at the two, “Good job, both of you.” 

_How does someone so perfect feel so insecure?_

Lance punched his mirror. Thoughts rampaged through his head, damaging his fragile mind and already fractioned happiness.

_As to scar her skin with cuts and burns and still want to hurt more…_

Lance grabbed one of the shards and pressed down lightly, pulling it across his skin. He felt the burn of his skin spliting and the warmth of blood that dotted his skin.

_How does someone so loving, learn to hate her own guts?_

“I’m sorry I’m worthless,” Lance spoke out to himself, a tear running down his face. He pressed the glass on his skin once more, applying slightly more pressure than before.

_Drawing a picture on her arms with a blade as if her mind isn’t dark enough_

Lance sobbed. He cradled his arm and grieved, _‘Why him?’_

_There is a girl in the front of my glass who’s sad that you find it rare to see her smile or laugh_

“Lance, buddy, come join us on the bridge,” Hunk tried desperately to get back to his friend. 

Lance shook his head. He kept his gaze on the floor, “Sorry, Hunk. Maybe tomorrow,” and with that, he left.

_Her friends tell her jokes like that one with the guy_

“Lance, remember when Coran was talking about those aliens that are linked at the ears? What were they? Al-Almours? Yalmours?” Pidge attempted to get Lance to participate in the conversation.

Lance shook his head. “I’m going to sleep. Goodnight.”

_But all she does is close her eyes and enter her mind._

Lance laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. _‘You’re such a nuisance.’_

With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes, only allowing one tear to slip from his eyes.

_How does someone so perfect, feel so insecure?_

Lance watched the rest of the paladins converse as normal. Without him, they would be perfectly fine. Without him, the universe would still exist. Without him, Zarkon would be stopped and the Galra empire would fall. Without him, they would be happy.

_As to scar her skin with cuts and burns and still want to hurt more…_

Lance made his way to his room, fiddling with the razor in the right pocket of his jacket. It was decided. He was leaving for the team.

_How does someone so loving, learn to hate her own guts?_

Lance stared at himself in the mirror before rolling up his sleeve.

_Drawing a picture on her arms with a blade as if her mind isn’t dark enough_

Lance lets silent tears fall, pressing harder onto his skin the more he glided. He felt light. He could no longer feel the pain that was urging him to stop.

_For her imperfections…_

“Lance! Lance, please! Oh god,” Keith screamed over the body of his friend. 

“Keith, step back,” Shiro tried to pull him away from the body. 

Keith refused and Shiro had to grab the smaller and pull him out of the room, Keith struggled the entire time.

_There is a girl in the front of my class who yesterday took the breath that was her last…_

Hunk, who had found his best friend, was sitting on the ex-paladin’s bed, just staring. Staring at the wall, the dresser… staring at nothing. 

Pidge washed the blood off her hands.  _‘He’s not dead. That’s just a fake. He’ll jump out and announce that it was all just one big, fucked up prank.’_

Allura didn’t expect this. No paladin had ever killed themselves. She had never seen a suicide and now she could never unsee it.

Coran lost a son. Someone he could confide in, reminisce about home and rant to. 

Shiro locked himself in his room. He cried, blaming himself for the death of his teammate. He didn’t eat nor sleep. He couldn’t. Normally, Lance would come in and usher him to sleep, even if it took ages but it worked. Now, no one was there to help him through his nightmares.

_She wrote a few notes:_

Keith was given the note. He kept the jacket that covered Lance’s scars, and now his.

_“I’m sorry I didn’t say,_

_But my mind was messed up,_  
You couldn’t save me anyway…   
  
And to the girl in the back of the class,   
Who feels the way I did… 

_Keith unfolded the page further, wiping away tears and biting his trembling lower lip to keep him from sobbing._

_How does someone so perfect,_

To everyone and anyone who feels like I did. Do not be afraid to receive help. You are all valid. You are perfectly imperfect. Someone in this world loves you, even if you haven’t realized it. 

_Feel so insecure?_

Do not let your insecurities get to you. What you are insecure about is something that another person loves about you.

_As to scar her skin with cuts and burns_

You are strong. You have made it this far in life. It truly does get better. Try to be as patient as you can.  Other people are also facing their own battles so be kind to them and yourself. Take a walk, sing, dance, write, listen to music, do what makes you happy. Don’t hurt yourself. You are worth so much more.

_and still want to hurt more”_

_I’ve lost, but you can win. I believe in you._

**_\- Lance_ **


	2. Youth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, Keith coping with Lance's death as well as the rest of the paladins.

_Shadows settle on the place that you left_

_Our minds are troubled by the emptiness_

The seat next to him was unoccupied and the air around him dense with tension. No one spoke, the silence tearing through the team like a newly sharpened knife. Space where Lance once sat, smiling and joking, was now a painful reminder of what they had lost. That was the problem for him though, wasn’t it?

Keith didn’t know what he lost.

* * *

 

He hated the silence and begged for someone to fill it. He hated the empty chair at the dining table and he hated the quiet of the room next to his. He hated hearing the trio-turned-duo crying in the halls, mourning and calling for the fallen paladin. He hated seeing Shiro trying to keep everyone together when Shiro himself was falling apart. He hated catching Allura in the bridge, her eyes never leaving the screen in a paranoid frenzy of grief. He hated Coran’s silence and reluctance to talk.

He hated how much he missed Lance.

 

_Destroy the middle it’s a waste of time_

It was evident that something happened between the paladins.

Voltron was no longer an angel that danced in the sky, saving galaxy after galaxy and freeing dozens of people.

Now they were silent, nowhere to be seen. Various rumors spread like wildfire throughout the universe. Some claimed that Zarkon captured them, others said that the paladins were all killed.

Most believed that Voltron deserted them.

 

_From the perfect start_

“We do make a good team.” Lance flashed a tired smile, his body aching and his head suffering from a migraine that limited his ability to think straight.

The grin he received from Keith made it all worth it.

 

_To the finish line_

“Lance?” Keith said knocking on the door to the blue paladin’s room. “Lance, it’s time to eat. Get out here.” Keith waited for any sign of him. Keith growled impatiently, “Lance, hurry up!”

Keith opened the door, the panels sliding out of his sight revealing the empty room. Keith stepped in his hand gliding against the frame before leaving the cold metal.

It was.... different. The hollow feeling of the normally full room. Everything was clean and organized.

_And if you're still breathing, you're the lucky ones_

_'Cause most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs_

Keith lowered his gaze to the bed against the wall. The lone sheet of paper folded into a neat square sat patiently waiting.

_Setting fire to our insides for fun_

Keith carefully picked it up, confused as to why the paper felt as if it was mocking him. Taunting him and attacking him with no remorse.

To anyone and everyone who feels like I did.

Keith skipped a few lines, his eye growing wide further he got down.

I’ve lost, but you can win. I believe in you.

\- Lance

_Collecting names of the lovers that went wrong_

“Lance!” Keith yelled, his voice echoing through the room. His eyes falling upon the door to the bathroom. He staggered over his feet, dropping the note on the floor. “Lance, oh god.”

The door slid open, revealing a trail of red blood that puddled under what was once the paladin’s friend’s slumped figure.

Keith was shocked, to say the least. His color on that of the blue paladin, except it, was all in the wrong places. Red that came from the natural blush of Lance’s skin was nowhere to be found, instead, it was paler. The natural glow of his tan skin was gone, leaving a dull tone in its wake.

His mouth was slightly parted, blood staining the usually pink lips-Keith refused to admit how he’d ignored how swollen and bitten they were the last time he saw Lance.

Lance’s sleeves were rolled up, showing the source of the bleeding. The damage was hidden by the massive amount of blood covering his left arm.

Keith yelled, sliding across the tile and kneeling next to the body. He shook Lance, calling him and telling him to wake up. He grabbed towels from the nearby rack, wrapping them around his arm to stop the bleeding- even if it was no longer bleeding.

_The lovers that went wrong_

It finally hit Keith when Lance’s head rolled to the side as he attempted to move him from his spot against the wall.

He pulled off the rags, flinching as the cuts were revealed. Three long open wounds covered others in various stages of healing.

He pulled Lance into his lap, moving so that his body was across Keith’s. The red paladin took Lance’s head into one arm and wrapped the other around Lance so that he supported the weight of the other’s body.

“Keith, we heard you screaming. You okay? Bud-“ Hunk’s voice stopped at the sight he was taking in. “Oh...”

Keith heard Hunk fall to the floor, a gross sob emitting from his throat in a way that felt, more than sound, painful.

A wretched scream from the doorway tore Keith’s stare away from Lance. Pidge stood unmoving, her whole body shaking in shock.

Shiro ran in soon after, eyes scanning the scene before taking Pidge and turning her the other way into his chest. He locked eyes with Keith, the latter looking away to gaze down at Lance.

Tightening his grip, Keith tried to suppress the small sob rising in his throat. He leaned down and buried his face in Lance’s neck, flinching at how prominent the bones were.

The orders given to the Alteans by Shiro were faint to him, the only sound he could clearly hear was the rushing of his blood and the absence of Lance’s heartbeat. A hand fell on his shoulder, prompting Keith to look up at the owner.

Shiro’s calmness spiked Keith’s rage though he knew that the man was trying his best to stay so for the team.

“Keith,” Shiro gently tugged his shoulder, “Step back.” He frowned at the lack of response from the red paladin. “Keith?”

In turn, Keith moved away from Shiro, gripping firmly to the jacket of the other. “No,” Keith choked out, his voice sore and scratchy.

“Don’t make me do it,” Shiro pleaded, two hands sneaking under Keith’s arm, ready to pull the smaller up if necessary.

Keith couldn’t move, wouldn’t.

Shiro’s arms tightened around Keith, lifting the other off the ground and away from the body. “Keith, calm down- Keith!” Shiro yelled, or tried to yell, over the other’s shrieking.

Keith cursed Shiro, shouted at him to let him down, that he needed to stay with the fallen paladin. Screaming at the older and struggling against the hold. He managed to break loose a few times, falling to the ground before making an attempt to crawl back to Lance, only to be restrained once again.

The door shut behind them, closing Keith off from the room. He shoved Shiro off of him.

“Listen, Keith. I need you to calm down-”

“Lance is in there Shiro!” Keith threw his arms up, flinching as he did so. His voice sounded like gravel and his tear stained cheeks were raindrops on the pavement. He was...well, he didn’t know what he was. He felt somewhat betrayed. He felt left behind, forgotten, useless. Abandoned.

“Keith-” Shiro tried to intervene, moving forward towards the younger. He stepped back, getting away from Keith’s swinging limbs.

“No!” Keith shouted. He was visibly shaking, the tremble in his hands growing more and more with every breathing moment. “The pods could do something! Put him in there! Just- fix him, Shiro!’

“Keith, it’s too late. Lance is-”

Keith wouldn’t hear it, “He can make it. I know he can. He… He has too.” He bit down on his cheek, not letting up even as the metallic tang of blood cursed his tongue. “Shiro, he’s-”

“Stop it.”

“-gonna make it. He’s not gone yet. We can still save him. We just need to find something. Maybe we can find a planet or...or find a healer? Something!”

“Stop it, Keith!” Shiro pushed Keith against the wall, pinning him up using the strength given by his galra arm. He allowed Keith to trace his features. His tired and swollen eyes, his clenched jaw holding back the need to cry, the stoic look on his face on the verge of falling apart. Keith felt a hot tear escape his eyes.

Then another.

Keith lifted a weak hand onto the one grabbing his shaking shoulder. He felt the pressure loosen, instead of allowing the smaller body to fall into the chest of the older, big arms wrapping around the normally strong, but now frail, figure.

Keith didn’t say anything about how tight the hug was, nor would he ever talk about the heat of fresh tears soaking the fabric covering his shoulder.

 

_We are the reckless_

Keith wasn’t sure how he started harming himself.  It was a slow process built up over time with coping mechanisms that slowly faded away, leaving nothing behind but an empty feeling. A numbness that could never be gratified no matter what he did to fill it.

_we are the wild youth_

Probably with training. Working himself to the point of exhaustion where he would spend many nights staring at the ceiling with no energy left to return to his room or pushing himself up levels that he was not prepared for. Then not eating, starving himself of the nutrients needed to carry out simple tasks.

And then it was the blade.

Not his knife that had the Marmorite symbol on it, no. A small shard of glass. One that came from the shattered mirror of the ex-blue-paladin’s bathroom. A fracture of the mirror that ended Lance’s life.

 

_Chasing visions of our futures_

“To Voltron!”

The paladin’s raised their glasses, joining the cheering alongside the residents of Ya’xiu Buixm.

“An amazing victory carried out by the paladin’s. We are eternally thankful for your assistance in the fight for freedom against the Galra Empire,” King Tumbix called out, his posture as straight as it could be with the many...things… sticking out of his back.

Keith returned to his seat, noting the quiet of the room table. It had been usual now. Not that anyone liked the change. He watched Lance stare at the bowl in front of him. The normal banter that would escape his lips absent.

Lance picked at his plate, or what was meant to be food on his plate. Keith felt his own stomach drop as he observed the minuscule amount the blue paladin was consuming if he even had put any in his mouth yet.

Keith nudged the younger with his knee. “Are you okay?”

Lance showed no sign that he heard him, instead of dragging his spoon across the plate spreading out the food. Keith tried again, hitting him slightly harder than before, “Lance?”

_One day we’ll reveal the truth_

“Huh?” Lance looked up from his activity, “You need something there, Mullet?” Lance smiled if it could be called that. It was more of a grimace, the amused tone conflicting against the pain evident in his eyes. His skin was pale, the area under the blue pupils turning a faint purple. No doubt being helped by facial products and alien makeup. His lips were cracked and bitten swollen.

“I asked if you were alright?” Keith tried again, he shifted his weight in his seat, fiddling with the collar of his armor.

“Yeah, of course. ‘M fine. Just haven’t been sleeping?” Lance rubbed the back of his neck, turning his gaze back to the utensils. “Just, don’t worry about me. Okay, Keith?”

“You’re sure?” Keith said leaning forward, hesitantly putting his hand on the table near Lance’s own.

Lance recoiled, “Mhm.”

_That one will die before he gets there_

Keith clutched the jacket closer around him. He should have pressed more. He should have made sure Lance was okay. He shouldn’t have overlooked the hesitancy in Lance’s actions. He should have talked to him through the night. Then Lance wouldn’t have been alone. Then Lance wouldn’t have had the chance to take his life.

He clutched the note in his hand, the paper crumbling under the force of his fists. The ink used to write every word smeared as tears fell onto parchment.

_And if you’re still bleeding, you’re the lucky ones_

Keith was alive.

Well, somewhat..alive.

Alive in the sense of breathing and physically moving.

_‘Cause most of our feelings, they are dead and they are gone_

It felt like a constant drowning. Being pulled under a wave time and time again, stuck in an endless loop with no escape.

It was tiring, fighting all the time for a chance to breathe. Struggling as the water threw him in any direction. It pulled him down further and further until there weren’t waves anymore.

It was nothingness.

_We’re setting fires to our insides for fun_

A scream echoed through the halls. Keith flinched, never growing accustomed to Shiro’s frequent night terrors.

Sobbing followed the short silence. Hiccups and pleads that wouldn’t be answered ripped through Keith, tearing him apart as he listened to Hunk’s cries.

Pidge was silence, as she always was now. It was impossible to find her. The only signs that she was still alive was the occasional cup or bowl in the kitchen or the small.

Corran tried to keep everyone together for a short while before giving up himself. Keith saw him in the med bay, cleaning the pods. The routine of chatting the quiet away disappeared, replaced with more of the ruined noise.

_Collecting pictures from the flood that wrecked our home_

Lance thought he was useless. He thought he wasn’t any good for the team. He thought that leaving was for the best and damn it to hell he was the only thing keeping them all sane and now he’s gone.

_It was a flood that wrecked this home_

When a fish is released into the unfamiliar water without being properly introduced it dies, whether it be from the initial shock of the water or from something in the compound.

The team was the fish and the silence was the water.

The sudden quiet shook the team to the core. Even with Lance’s old silence, there was always some kind of sign of life. From footsteps in the hall, short giggles, and empty dishwashers with a hand on the shoulder or a comforting pat on the back.

_...And you caused it…_

The pep talks the team once received were nonexistent, the tradition started by (and ended with) Lance. Missions were less successful and the team was getting injured far more often.

_...And you caused it…_

The paladins no longer sat together and had what Lance had dubbed as “Familia Time” seeing as Lance was the only one willing to search the entire ship to drag everyone into the bridge. Forming Voltron was getting harder and harder, even costing them a battle because of the inability to form the war machine.

_...and you caused it…_

It was going to happen at some point. No one wanted to admit it or bring it up, but it was going to happen.

Without Voltron, the rebelling forces were depleting and the empire was growing. Voltron had helped to free one-third of the former Galra Empire and helped to defend them from attacks.

Without the assistance from the team, free planets were falling under Galra reign once more. Voltron was excluded from attack plans. The Marmorites never contacted the team.

The alliance was falling apart and the one who caused it was still in a pod, waiting to be six feet under.

_Well I’ve lost it all, I’m just a silhouette_

It was a darkness that never left you alone. Constantly wrapping you up and never letting you go. It manifested in drawing with blades and scream-filled nights. It was a heaviness that pulls you to the ground. It was a weight that sat on your chest in the morning when you first give up, keeping you pinned to the mattress. 

_I’m a lifeless face that you’ll soon forget_

 

“I’m gonna go an’ take a nap before dinner.”

Hunk nodded, continuing to rewire one of the robots that he and Pidge had been working on, “Yeah., okay.” He moved around a bit before turning to Pidge who, in turn, was smashing her keys in the attempt to make a code. “Can you hand me the red one?” He took the chord from the younger, “Thanks, Pidgeon.”

 

“Good night, Lance,” Allura said from her place on the couch. “I wish you good dreams.” She scrolled through her screen, purple and blue flashing every now and then alerting her of Galra movement.

Lance stood up, making his way to the door. After about four steps he collapsed, catching himself moments before falling onto his face.

“Lance!” Shiro ran over to help the blue paladin up. “Are you okay?”

Lance batted at Shiro, stepping away for a moment, “Yeah, like I said. I’m just tired. I’ll be good after the nap.”

“I’ll walk you to your room,” Shiro offered to which Lance shook his head.

“I’ll be fine. No need to worry.”

“I’ll go,” Keith said. He walked from his place on the wall to the two paladins near the door.

Lance frowned, crossing his arms. “And why would you want to do that?”

“Believe it or not,” Keith started, already leading Lance out the doors, “I’m not as heartless or cruel as you think I am.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Says Mr. I-will-always-kick-your-butt-in-training-and-will-laugh-as-I-judo-flip-you.”

“Hey!”

_and my eyes are damp from the words you left_

Lance hesitated to raise his hand to the keypad of his door. “You know that I don’t actually think that you’re a monster, right?”

Keith tripped over his own words, “I-uh-yeah? I guess?”

Lance smiled, “We made a good team.”

“Yeah,” Keith returned the gesture, rubbing the back of his neck as he felt the skin under his palm heat up, “We do.”

“Bye, Keith.”

“See you after, Lance.”

_ringing in my head, when you broke my chest_

It hurt, if he were, to be honest, to write the note.

Help was just outside but he didn’t know how to ask for it. Instead, he sat quietly, pen in hand and tears blurring his vision. He thought for a moment, looking at the last signature on the paper.

He headed to the bathroom.

_ringing in my head, when you broke my chest_

Keith asked, “It’ll be okay, right?”

Hunk wrapped his arms around Keith, “Of course.”

Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly in support. He smiled down at the shorter.

Soon enough Pidge and Corran were joining the embrace, Allura coming soon after.

_and if you're in love then, you are the lucky one_

“I loved him? Right?”

“Yeah, you did.”

Keith folded his hands in his laps, glaring at them, “Then why did he do it? Was it not enough? Am I-“

Shiro cut him off, throwing a hand forward. “Don’t blame yourself. What Lance did was his choice. No one is to blame. Stop beating yourself up over it.”

“Okay…”

_‘Cause most of us are bitter over someone_

Pidge smiled alongside of Hunk, throwing a small piece of food at him.

“Pidge, stop wasting your food,” Shiro said from his chair, shoveling his own serving into his mouth.

The Alteans were in their own respective places, discussing something that Keith had no idea what it was.

This was Keith’s Family.

Maybe it’s a little broken, maybe it’s missing a part, but it’s his family and he’d do anything for them.

_Setting fire to our insides for fun_

“Pidge!” Keith yelled, chasing after the younger, “Get back here!”

He heard the paladin’s laughter echoing down the hall, “Sorry, Keith! You heard Shiro! Whoever’s last has to clean the castle and I’m not doing it!”

“Yeah, Keith!”

Keith frowned, “You too, Hunk?”

“Hey, I love you. But I’m not cleaning this castle,  no offense.”

_to distract our hearts from ever missing them_

Keith was getting better, and so was the team. Because finally, after everything that had happened. It was easier to talk about him.

_But I’m forever missing him_

Sure, he’ll never forget how beautiful his smile was or how selfless he was. Nor would he ever say that he doesn’t occupy his dreams or that Keith doesn’t have vivid nightmares of finding him on the floor.

But they still had the pictures Lance had taken while he was alive. They still had the happy memories.

And that was good enough.

_...And you caused it…_

Keith smiled, watching the citizen’s run out of their homes. Bells chimed around them and cheers of pure joy rang through his ears.

Zarkon fell.

They won.

. _..And you caused it…_

They collapsed on top of each other, each and every one of them exhausted from the battle. They, a bunch of children who barely made it through, who suffered the loss of a teammate, of a friend, finally took down the Galra Empire.

Keith held firmly onto the green jacket around him.

They could go home.

It was done.

It was over.

_...And you caused it..._

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me two months to write and I am so happy that I finished this because every book went on hold until this was over.


End file.
